Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas’ wide-ranging artistic practice explores themes of identity, environmentalism and the human condition. Influenced by both the tradition of Haida iconography and contemporary Asian visual culture, he has created an artistic practice that crosses diverse cultures, generations, and disciplines. “Haida Manga” is the innovative combination of Haida formline design and Japanese comics (manga) to create a pan-Pacific narrative art form. He made his American debut in 2015, showing his monumental work RED: A Haida Manga at the Seattle Art Museum as part of their exhibition Indigenous Beauty, with a concomitant solo exhibition at Stonington Gallery. He created lectures and programming on Haida Manga at the American Museum of Natural History in New York the same year. In July 2015 he was an invited guest at the first Seattle Art Fair, and his work was seen across the cityon Art Fair billboards.

Yahgulanaas uses art to communicate a world view that, while particular to Haida Gwaii, his ancestral North Pacific archipelago, is also relevant to a contemporary and internationally-engaged audience. Working in multiple forms including painting, sculpture and illustrated publications, his artistic practice is acclaimed for its vitality and originality.

Raised in Delkatla, Haida Gwaii, Yahgulanaas began working as an artist after many decades in the leadership of the Haida Nation’s successful campaign to protect its people’s indigenous culture and environment. In the past decade, Yahgulanaas’ work has been presented in museums across Canada and all over the world, including at international exhibitions in Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Europe. His art works are in numerous public and private collections including the British Museum (London, England), the Vancouver Art Gallery (Vancouver, Canada), the Glenbow Museum (Calgary, Canada) and the Museum of Anthropology (Vancouver, Canada). His large sculptural works are part of the public art collection of the City of Vancouver in Canada. In 2011/2012, Yahgulanaas was the Audain Professor in Contemporary Arts of the Pacific Northwest at the University of Victoria.

Yahgulanaas’ publications include A Tale of Two Shamans (2001), The Last Voyage of the Black Ship (2002), Hachidori (2005), the internationally awarded Flight of the Hummingbird (2008), RED, a Haida Manga (2009), The Canoe He Called Lootaas (2010), and Old Growth (2012). He is also the illustrator of David Suzuki’s The Declaration of Interdependence: A Pledge to Planet Earth .

MICHAEL NICOLL YAHGULANAAS ( HAIDA)
RESUME

GRANTS & AWARDS
2009 Winner of Book of the Year 2009, 13th Annual Independent Publishers, USA
2006 Visual Arts (major award), Canada Council for the Arts,
BC Arts Council, Canada
2004 Heritage, Language and Culture Council, BC, Canada
Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC, Canada
2002 Heritage, Language and Culture Council, BC, Canada
2001 Canada Council for the Arts

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016 Bill Reid Gallery, Vancouver, The Seriousness of Play

2015 Stonington Gallery, Solo Exhibit, Seattle

2014 Vancouver, BC, Canada-Douglas Udell Gallery,
2014 Edmonton, AB, Canada-Douglas Udell Gallery,
2013 Vancouver, BC, Canada-Douglas Udell Gallery,
2012 Edmonton, AB, Canada-Douglas Udell Gallery, Solo 3
2011 Vancouver, BC, Canada-grunt gallery, Old Growth
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Douglas Udell Gallery, Solo 2
Thunder Bay, ON, Canada-Thunder Bay Art Gallery, RED, a Haida Manga
2010 Grand Forks, BC, Canada-Grand Forks Gallery, RED, a Haida Manga
Penticton, BC, Canada-Penticton Art Gallery, RED, a Haida Manga
Haida Gwaii, Canada-Haida Gwaii Museum at Kaay Llnagaay, RED Undone
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Douglas Udell Gallery, Solo
2009 Calgary, AB, Canada-Masters Gallery, Mastering Manga
Calgary, AB, Canada-Glenbow Museum, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Calgary, AB, Canada-Glenbow Museum, Haida Manwha Bang
2007 Vancouver, BC, Canada-MOA at UBC, Meddling in the Museum

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2015 Seattle Art Museum, Indigenous Beauty
2013 Edmonton, AB, Canada-Douglas Udell Gallery
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Douglas Udell Gallery
2012 Bonn, Germany, Bundeskuntall (Art & Exhibit Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany)
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates-Manarat al Saadiyat Gallery
Museum of Western Australia, (Commonwealth Heads of Government)
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Vancouver Art Gallery, Beat Nation
2011 Vancouver, BC, Canada-1965 Gallery, On Main
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Vancouver Art Gallery, Shore, Forest and Beyond
Toronto, ON, Canada-Gendai Gallery, Japanese Cultural Center, Haida Manga
2010 Abbotsford, BC, Canada-Reach Gallery and Museum, Challenging Traditions
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Vancouver Art Gallery, A Landscape Manual
Toronto, ON, Canada-Harbourfront Center, New Collaborations in Design
New Orleans, LA, USA-Ethnographic Terminalia
2009 Vancouver, BC, Canada-Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, Continuum,
Ottawa, ON, Canada-National Arts Centre, BC Scene
Kleinburg, ON, Canada-McMichael Canadian Art Collection and Lausanne,
Switzerland, Olympic Museum, Challenging Traditions
2008 Comox, BC, Comox Valley Art Centre
Coquitlam, BC, Canada-Evergreen Centre Art Gallery
Penticton, BC, Canada-Art Gallery of the South Okanagan, What Use Art History?
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Equinox Gallery
Haida Gwaii, Canada-Haida Gwaii Museum at Kaay Llnagaay
2006 Vancouver, BC, Canada-Vancouver Art Gallery, Raven Travelling
2005 Seoul, Korea-A World’s Children Picture Book
Bucheon, Korea-7th World Comic Artists Conference, Exhibition of painting
Nagoya, Japan-Expo 2005 Canadian Pavillion, Live painting exhibit
Milano, Italy-Du Monde Aux Balkans Festival, Stripburger
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Vancouver Public Library, Word On the Street
2004 London, England-Canada House, Red White 100% Design
Bucheon, Korea-7th Annual International Cartoon Book Festival, watercolours
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Vancouver Writers Festival, Word On the Street
2003 Vancouver, BC, Canada-MOA, University of BC, The Last Voyage of the Black Ship
Tokyo, Japan-Canadian Entry (placed top 10) Tokyo Design Week
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Vancouver Public Library, Word On the Street
2002 Vancouver, BC, Canada, Water Street- Raw Potential
Masset, Haida Gwaii, Canada-Dixon Maritime Museum, Tale of Two Shamans

PUBLIC COMMISSIONS
2014 Public sculpture, Rivers- City of Kamloops public sculpture
2011 Vancouver, BC, Canada-City of Vancouver public sculpture, Abundance Fenced
London, England-The British Museum, Coppers from the Hood
2009 Vancouver, BC, Canada-Thunderbird Winter Sports Arena, Take Off
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, Continuuma
2008 Vancouver, BC, Canada-Geist Magazine, RE ME MB ER
2007 Vancouver, BC, Canada-MOA at the University of BC Meddling in the Museum

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
City of Seattle
London, UK-British Museum
Calgary, AB, Canada-Glenbow Museum
Vancouver, BC, Canada-City of Vancouver
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Vancouver Art Gallery
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Museum of Anthropology (MOA), University of BC
Haida Gwaii, Canada-Haida Gwaii Museum at Kaay Llnagaay
Kawasaki, Japan-Kawasaki City Manga Museum
Calgary, AB, Canada-Luke Lindoe Library at the Alberta College of Art and Design

*Private collections in Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Korea, Qatar, UK, USA.

PUBLISHED WORKS
2015 The Seriousness of Play

2012 Old Growth, Read Leaf, Vancouver
2010 Little Hummingbird, Greystone Books, Vancouver
The Canoe He Called Loo Taas, with Amanda Reid-Stevens, Benjamin Brown Books
Declaration of Interdependance, with Tara Cullis & David Suzuki, Greystone Books
2009 RED: a Haida Manga, Douglas and McIntyre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Nominated for BC Booksellers’ Choice Award, BC, Canada
Nominated for the Doug Wright Award for Best Book, Canada
Nominated for the Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Cartoonist, Canada
2008 Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment, Douglas and McIntyre, Canada (plus Australian, Spanish, French, Serbian editions)
Winner of Book of the Year 2009, 13th Annual Independent Publishers, USA
Nominated for a BC Booksellers’ Choice Award, BC, Canada
2007 Redblack in Quantum Spies, Korea pg. 88-127
2005 Hachidori (Japan), Shinichi Tuji & Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (illus.)
Comics Journal (Seattle USA), photographs and caricatures pg. 42, 43
2004 A Lousy Tale, (exhibited Canada House, London, UK)
2002 MADBURGER (Czech Republic) illustration pg. 5
What Right! Anthology (Vancouver) Arsenal Press, pg. 50-53
Crank (Vancouver), serialized 2002-2004
Vancouver special, pg. 19-22
Nonni’s Will, (pamphlet), Legal Services Society of BC
The Last Voyage of the Black Ship, Western Canada Wilderness Committee
2001 A Tale of Two Shamans, Theytus Books and Haida Gwaii Museum at Kaay Llnagaay
1998 SpruceRoots, editorial cartoons, 1998-2002, Haida Gwaii
1997 Tales of Raven, Vol. 2, “Mutants of the Pit”, Haida Gwaii
1977 Tales of Raven, Vol. 1, “No Tankers Tanks”, Haida Gwaii

SELECTED PERFORMANCE & INSTALLATION
2009 Victoria, BC, Canada-Luminara Festival
Banff, AB, Canada-Calgary International Writers Festival, Wordfest
Vancouver, BC, Canada-22nd Vancouver International Writer’s Festival, Wordfest
2006 Massett, Haida Gwaii, BC, Canada-7idansuu Potlatch, Big Puppets
2005 Nagoya, Japan-Expo 2005, live international painting competition
2004 New York, NY, USA-George Gustav Heye Centre

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
2012 Yellowknife NWT, Canada-Northwords Writers Festival (presenter)
Victoria, BC, Canada Department of Fine Arts, University of Victoria
(Audain Professor of Contemporary Art Practice)
2011 Calgary, AB, Canada-Mont Royal University. (Writer in Residence)
2010 Vancouver, BC, Canada-Simon Fraser University (guest lecturer)
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Irving K Barber Center (guest lecturer)
Toronto, ON, Canada-Harbourfront Center, New Collaborations in Design
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Vancouver Writer’s Series, W2 Culture and Media
Richmond, BC, Canada-O Zone (speaker)
2010 Vancouver, BC, Canada-University of BC (guest speaker)
Seattle, WA, USA-Burke Museum, graduate seminar (guest lecturer)
Ottawa, ON, Canada-Governor General’s round table discussion (panelist)
2009 New York, NY, USA-Bard Graduate Center (panelist)
Vancouver, Canada-International Conference on Restorative Justice, (keynote)
2008 Vancouver, BC, Canada-Memory festival, various venues (speaker)
Vancouver, BC, Canada-International Writer’s Festival (presenter)
Vancouver, BC, Canada-Vancouver Public Library (speaker)
Canada Council for the Arts (jury member)
2006 BC Arts Council (advisor)
2004 17th Vancouver International Writer’s Festival, Vancouver, BC, Canada

VIDEO
2010 Raven’s Call, Producer (http://theravenscall.ca)
2009 Pushing the Line: Art without Reservations, documentary, subject
2009 Haida Party Manga Mix, Subject
2008 Flight of the Hummingbird, Producer